Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Robot Aircraft To Ride Thermal Air Currents
Robot aircraft have a clever new way to conserve fuel - don't use any. Thermal air
currents have been providing lift to flyers since the dawn of time. Research currently
underway at Roke Manor Research in Hampshire, UK, indicates that this sort of sophisticated flight
can be programmed into autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Their plan is to test the idea
first by using it to offer guidance to pilots of gliders.
Here's how it works. An on-board camera takes video of the surrounding sky; software is used to
analyze the video, looking for gray, dome-shaped clouds that are formed by rapidly rising hot air.
The system is also able to integrate real-time weather forecasts and simulations.
When the system is automated, it should enable a UAV to pilot a course that transverses as many
thermal air currents as possible. The resulting fuel savings is not just a way to "green" robot
aircraft; it will enable longer flights by conserving a scarce resource.
The first place I read about this idea was Roger
Zelazny's admirable 1980 science/fantasy novel Changeling. In the story, small, robot
planes called 'tracer-birds' detect and ride air currents:
...they stirred, almost simultaneously, as if shaken by a sudden breeze. They began to flex their
wings.
Soon, one by one, they dropped from the heights, caught the air, rose, found their way, found
their patterns, resumed their journey...
These science-fictional robot planes were also solar-powered.
If the idea of autonomous robot planes making use of thermal air currents intrigues you, take a
look at another ongoing research effort - the Cloud
Swift Autonomous Soaring Project.
The dark birdforms dotted the mountaintops like statues of prehistoric beasts, wings outspread...
(Read more about Roger Zelazny's tracer-birds)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/21/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Surveillance ")
India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking
'It is necessary... for your own protection.' - Jack Vance, 1954.
LingYuan Vehicle Roof Drones Now Available, ala Blade Runner 2049
Accompanied by a small selection of similar ideas from science fiction.
Chameleon Personalized Privacy Protection Mask
'...the Virtual Epiphantic Identity Lustre.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
Spherical Police Robot Rolls In China
'Rand could effectively be in several places at once...' - Niven and Pournelle, 1981.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
The Zapata Air Scooter Would Be Great In A Science Fiction Story
'Betty's slapdash style.'
Thermostabilized Wet Meat Product (NASA Prototype)
There are no orbiting Michelin stars. Yet.
Could Crystal Batteries Generate Power For Centuries?
'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice'
India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking
'It is necessary... for your own protection.'
Amazon Will Send You Heinlein's Knockdown Cabin
'It's so light that you can set it up in five minutes by yourself...'
Is It Time To Forbid Human Driving?
'Heavy penalties... were to be applied to any one found driving manually-controlled machines.'
Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'
Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.
Wearable Artificial Fabric Muscles
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...'
BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.'
Google's Nano Banana Pro Presents Handwritten Math Solutions
'...copy was turned out in a charming and entirely feminine handwriting.'
Edible Meat-Like Fungus Like Barbara Hambly's Slunch?
'It was almost unheard of for slunch to spread that fast...'
Sunday Robotics 'Memo' Bot Has Unique Training Glove
'He then started hand movements of definite pattern...'
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
